StC News

Upper School Boys Win 2020 Virginia High School Ethics Bowl!

StC’s Ethics and Debate Team will represent Virginia nationally in 2021.
Congratulations to StC’s Ethics and Debate Team, who won the Virginia High School Ethics Bowl on Saturday!

After beating Collegiate School in the first round, StC’s team triumphed against McLean High School to advance to the semifinals and later beat James River High School and Collegiate a second time to win the championship. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life,” said AJ Jones '22. “I was in shock!” 

The victory is especially satisfying for the team this year. After entering the competition for the first time last year with no experience and finishing in last place, the team assessed their next steps. The boys put in weeks of preparation, drilled for hours via Zoom and developed a strategy for 2020. 

The hard work and preparation paid off. “We studied a lot more, we put more time into it, and we definitely studied our philosophy a lot more,” said Peter Huff '23. “We created our thinking process and refined it down to a razor’s edge.” 

StC’s team won every one of their rounds before winning the final match against Collegiate. Each round lasted over an hour, with questions posed by Virginia Commonwealth University philosophy professors, who also served as judges. 

“I can’t stop smiling,” said Upper School Librarian and team coach Marsha Hawkins. “I can hardly express how gratifying it was to see the boys succeed this year.” 

Held yearly, the Ethics Bowl is attended by high school students from across the country to engage in ethical inquiry and dialogue. Topics this year included questions like “Do leaders of social movements have a moral obligation to compromise?”

With the state finals behind them, StC’s team will focus on representing Virginia nationally in 2021. 

The winning team: 

  • Jack Omohundro '21 (Captain)
  • AJ Jones '22
  • Griffin Moore '22
  • Peter Huff '23
  • Will Moore '24
  • Owen Boyle '22
  • Ebo Rice '24
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